392 Divine Hydra Clan
As Yaan's dao body pursued the Death Inheritance, his cultivation body focussed on the conquest of the Four Divine System.
Before long, with the two cautious Deities trailing close behind him, Yaan reached the Divine Hydra Sector. He didn't immediately head towards the Primordial Sage in this sector, but instead, flew to Planet Hydra.
Like Planet Phoenix in the Divine Phoenix Sector, Planet Hydra was a Solar Planet, a planet as large as a star. These planets were the ultimate cultivation havens for immortals in every star system; not only was the Spiritual Energy on these planets far superior compared to normal life-planets, but they were filled with natural wonders of the world, excellent for specific cultivation endeavours. Often, Solar Planets were also favoured by specific daos of the world, particularly elemental daos.
And indeed, as soon as they reached Planet Hydra, Yaan could see countless bolts of lightning crackling through the atmosphere, creating a natural defensive shield that even Transcendents would struggle to pass through safely. Of course, to divinities, something like this was nothing.
At least, the lightning itself was nothing…the hidden formation within those lightning bolts was another matter entirely.
Yaan glanced back at the two women behind him, chuckling when he saw them raise their guards tensely.
"Relax, I have no intention of hurting you, or even making your lives difficult." He started by saying.
The pair realised that they had reacted a bit strongly and quickly forced themselves to 'calm down'. In reality, they were putting on a facade that Yaan could easily see through, making him smile and shake his head.
Actually, their acting wasn't bad at all, but any attempts to act were useless before Yaan. The only person who could completely conceal their inner thoughts from him, was the Primordial Sage…because she had cut off her own emotions entirely, hiding them so deep down that even she could no longer see her true heart.
Suddenly, Yaan looked at the two women with a smile and asked:
"Are the two of you aware that in less than 30 millennia, this world will come to an end, and all those who fail to transcend the Origin will be annihilated?"
Startled, the two Deities shared a doubtful glance with one another. After a long pause, Shadow Deity, the old woman dressed in mortal rags, responded carefully.
"Yes, we are aware. This information has recently spread throughout the world of divinities; all beings at the Divine Step, and even many Transcendents and Immortals, know of this matter...though some refuse to accept it."
"And you?" Yaan asked curiously.
"I long since learned about the matters pertaining to the outsiders and the 2nd Origin Era's end." Shadow Deity replied, sounding slightly bitter. "I don't want to believe it, but I know in my heart that it is true."
Yaan glanced at Typhoon Deity, whose beautiful face was hidden behind her veil, but could not be hidden from Yaan. She nodded and replied with a tone that tried to hide her emotion, but Yaan could hear her frustration.
"I also know…and accept it."
"I see." Yaan nodded. "Then, do you believe that you will be able to survive? Do you aim to transcend the Origin?"
"Lord World Demon, of course we wish to succeed, however…" Shadow Deity sighed glumly and shook her head. "I have been stuck as an Earthly Deity for hundreds of thousands of years. Even becoming an Empyrean is far too unlikely for me, no matter transcending the Origin. Of course, even though it might be futile, I have to try."
Typhoon Deity said nothing.
Yaan smiled and nodded.
"Follow me. I am going to bring the Divine Hydra Clan under my command."
After saying this, Yaan didn't wait around and flew straight down to the planet below. The two Deities felt confused, but followed after him silently anyway.
As Yaan continued to fly towards the chaotic lightning and showed no signs of slowing down, Shadow Deity hesitated, but ended up opening her mouth to speak. Before she could say anything however, Yaan called back to them both, quelling their concerns.
"I will get you past the Divine Hydra Protective Formation. I am a formations master, just follow me."
The women were reminded that indeed, the World Demon wasn't just a 'formations master', he was basically a formations god, having once created a formation that destroyed the Spirit Plane, the karmic river, and even the dao of karma itself.
They didn't even see him do anything, but their journey past the barrier of lightning was extremely smooth. It was as if the lightning bolts were making way for them, welcoming them into the planet as esteemed guests…
This didn't go unnoticed by the elders of the Divine Hydra Clan. As soon as Yaan and the others passed the formation and stopped in the air above a giant sea of lightning, countless lightning bolts of various colours shot towards them from the distance.
They were the elders of the Divine Hydra Clan, all at the Transcendent Realm. There was even a 9th Step Transcendent; this was clearly the current leader of the clan.
The elders all flew across arrogantly with fury in their hearts, thinking that some demons must be taking advantage of the chaotic state of the world to attack their clan, but as soon as they arrived and saw the three beings hovering in the sky above, their blood ran cold and they immediately froze.
They approached with such intensity, but upon arriving, everyone simply stopped and fell silent. A soundless pressure enveloped them, causing a great pressure to weigh down on their hearts. They all knew that to give them such a feeling of pressure, the beings before them…must be divinities!
After seeing that enough people had arrived, Yaan nodded, then immediately released a slightly altered version of his pseudo-domain…
His normal domain would cause people to see him as that which they hated the most in this world, but this was his pseudo-domain, he had the ability to alter it slightly to change this quality. He felt that with some practise and refinement, he should eventually be able to apply this change to his actual domain, which would be excellent for his future plans.
Being seen as the most hateful existence in a person's life was useful for throwing them off in combat, but it wasn't very good for building good relationships.
This pseudo-domain of his was still based upon the principles of painting and illusions. In an instant, the entire Divine Hydra Planet was transformed into a dreamy illusory painted world…
Yaan's body blurred, until he could be seen from every part of Divine Hydra Planet. It wasn't just that he could be seen either, because every single person across the Solar Planet, no matter what they were doing, stopped and looked up in shock at the red-robed child, shrouded in a golden light that seemed to emanate an aura depicting everything they loved and had ever wanted, yet had never known…and he was looking directly at them.
The immortals, the Transcendents, even the most powerful 9th Step Transcendent, all fell into this same illusion. They felt like this child, this miraculous, divine, angelic child, with his kind, gentle smile, filled with love and understanding, was looking directly at them.
They had the illusion that this child was looking straight into their soul, their heart, their very dao…and he understood. He understood their struggle, he understood their pain, he understood their suffering and all that they kept hidden deep within. He saw their strengths, he saw their flaws, and he…accepted them.
He understood…someone in this world…actually understood them…
Using the principle of binary opposites that Yaan had derived from the yin-yang dao to create his Conceal Truth Dao Spell, Yaan flipped the usual hatred that people would feel towards him, and transformed it into a unique form of love. This was the love that people would feel towards a perfect being, a being that embodied all they had ever wanted…and all that they had never been able to find. It was a perfection that did not exist in this world, and yet, it was standing directly before them, looking at them with understanding.
This was an illusion, but also not. This was Yaan's first test for this method, a method that used the misunderstanding of hate that all life would intrinsically feel towards his domain's aura, to show the world a certain truth within his heart.
Yaan was a demon, a monster of the highest order, a ruthless killer who would do whatever it took to achieve his goal…
But his goal could be said to be the 'ultimate good'. He truly, from the bottom of his heart, wanted to save this world.
He hated this world, and this hatred seemed to naturally manifest in his domain…
But he wanted to love this world. He saw the potential in this world, a potential that was continually being suppressed by the world's fate. He saw hope, a hope that was unable to surface.
He believed that deep down, all life wanted this hope to be realised, whether they understood this and accepted it, or not. Right now, he was showing the people of Planet Hydra the hope that he could see, the hope that he loved and wanted to make a reality.
He understood their pain and suffering, because this was the pain and suffering of life, the same pain and suffering that had plagued him in its cruelest form for his entire life, before he finally fixed his Dao Soul. This was the pain of trying to live in a broken, flawed world.
And so, when Yaan spread his sight across the world and looked down at each and every living being, the look of understanding towards their plight that filled his eyes was the honest truth that he himself had come to understand.
It was an illusion, but to Yaan, illusions were just as real as reality.
Finally, after silencing the world and stunning every powerhouse across the strongest planet in the Divine Hydra Sector, Yaan finally spoke.
"Everyone, by now, you have most likely heard of my name. They call me…the World Demon."
His words were like a bolt of lightning shooting through everyones' minds. They were shocked, fearful…and then confused.
This…was the World Demon?
This was the being said to be the cruelest, most evil demon, to ever be born into this world?
This was the enemy of all life in this world, the one who had slain more than any other?
How could this possibly be true?!
Yaan continued.
"This world is flawed, so it's no surprise that I have been mislabelled. You see, I am not this World's Demon…but this World's Saviour."
"In 30 millennia, this world will come to an end. Those who fail to transcend past the Divine Step will be destroyed along with the world as you know it. Everything that has been built up over the years will come crashing down into nothingness."
As Yaan spoke, the peoples' expressions became grim. For many, this was the first time they were hearing of this, but for others, this was knowledge that they had learned in recent years. Hearing this confirmation from a divinity was all they needed to lose their remaining doubts, and to finally accept this painful truth.
Somehow, they knew that this red-robed child was only speaking the truth. They knew that a being of his realm most likely had the power to deceive them with ease, and yet…they believed him.
As Yaan spoke the truth from his heart without a trace of deception, the world could not help but believe him.
Even the two Deities behind him couldn't help but feel their hearts stir as they listened to his words.
Yaan had lied and schemed many times throughout his life, but when it came to his core belief, his core principle, his core ambition…he saw no reason to lie. His goal was one that would benefit all manner of life in this world, so why would he need to lie? When it came to the truth that he believed within his heart, he did not need to lie, and he believed that he would do better by simply speaking from the heart.
Whether or not others believed him, well, that was yet to be seen. Regardless, he would speak his truth, he would speak from his heart, for the sake of those who would see through the sincerity in his words.
Yaan went on.
"It is true that I have committed wrongdoings. I have always walked the demonic path, doing many things that most would consider 'evil'…and I will continue walking this path, no matter how much suffering my actions spread. I walk this demonic path, because this is my path towards saving this world."
Yaan paused, and having drawn in the focus of so many powerhouses, he decided to conclude this little speech of his before his words lost their impact.
"This world is a broken mess, and as it is now, it cannot be fixed, it cannot be saved, and all efforts to prevent further suffering are simply laughable. However! I wish to overturn the common sense that we all have come to accept! Of course, to achieve this, I must first gain the power to do so. And so, if I must kill all life, I will kill all life. If I must destroy all things, I will destroy all things. But I promise you this…one day, when I have attained the power to do so, I will fix all past mistakes, and I will pave the way for a future rife with hope - I will create a true utopia for all manner of life, past, present and future. No matter what most be done, I swear on my dao, I will save this world."
Yaan's world were imbued with the ambition that filled his heart. Although he did not say every single detail regarding what he wished to achieve, by imbuing his dao into his words, every individual present interpreted this 'utopia' in their own, ideal way.
To some, they heard Yaan saying that no matter what, whether they stood with him or opposed him, after he attained ultimate power, he would create a deathless world and resurrect all those who had died along the way, be they friend or foe!
To others, they heard Yaan speaking of the creation of a true heaven, a world without pain, fear and suffering.
But everyone present understood one key point…the ambition in this red-robed child's heart, would not be extinguished, no matter how much adversity he faced, no matter how long he must fight for!
He was not making them an offer, promising them reward in exchange for their submission and loyalty. No, that wasn't it…
Yaan finally spoke one last bit to the world, before the illusion of his omnipresence across Planet Hydra vanished, and he reappeared standing before the 9th Step Transcendent and the other elites of the Divine Hydra Clan.
"I will not demand your submission, nor will I promise you anything in return for your services to my cause. Whether you stand with me or against me, it will have no bearing on my attitude towards your eventual fate when I finally come to create my utopia; I am not that petty a man. I only ask that you consider this…do you wish to die meaninglessly as the world continues to come crashing down over the following years…or will you give meaning to your life and death? I ask you all…will you aid me on my path, and help me bring hope to this hopeless world?"
